India’s National Horticultural Board (NHB) has announced it will establish a train service devoted to the transport of fresh produce.
According to a report in the Times of India, the board has teamed up with the Container Corporation of India (Concor) to manufacture insulated and ventilated wagons specifically designed for transporting fresh produce. Each wagon will have the capacity to carry 15-16 tons of produce.
Concor and the NHB will invest Rs80m (US$1.75m) in the project and will be helped out by Union Railways, which will provide an engine, the newspaper reported.
The train will run from Vashi, near Mumbai, to Delhi stopping at Nashik and Jalgoan, where grapes and bananas will be loaded.On its return journey the train will take produce from the Azadpur mandi in Delhi to Mumbai via Agra and Surat.
According to the report, the NHB will announce details regarding bookings, freights and timetables in the coming weeks.
“It’s the first such train in the world. The wagons will have room temperature-like conditions. We can also provide air-conditioned facilities in a few wagons,” NHB managing director Bijay Kumar told the newspaper.
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